DES PLAINES, Ill., Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell (NASDAQ:
HON) today announced the commercialization of a revolutionary
process that expands the types of plastics that can be recycled and
can produce feedstock used to make recycled plastics with a lower
carbon footprint. The new technology can reduce the need for fossil
fuels in the creation of virgin plastics while enabling hundreds of
cycles of recycling, with the goal of enabling a circular economy
for plastics.
Honeywell's UpCycle Process Technology utilizes
industry-leading molecular conversion, pyrolysis,
and contaminants management technology to convert waste
plastic back to Honeywell Recycled Polymer Feedstock, which is then
used to create new plastics. The UpCycle Process
technology expands the types of plastics that can be recycled
to include waste plastic that would otherwise go unrecycled,
including colored, flexible, multilayered packaging and
polystyrene. When used in conjunction with other chemical and
mechanical recycling processes -- along with improvements to
collection and sorting – Honeywell's UpCycle Process
Technology has the potential to increase the amount of global
plastic waste that can be recycled to 90%.
According to a study published by AMI International in
September 2020, waste plastics
processed through advanced recycling technologies, such as UpCycle
Process Technology, could amount to between 5 and 15 million tons
of additional plastic waste being recycled per year by
2030.1
Recycled plastics produced via UpCycle Process Technology can
result in a 57% reduction of CO2-equivalent
(CO2e) emissions compared with the production of the
same amount of virgin plastic from fossil feeds.2. The
process also reduces CO2e emissions by 77% compared with
conventional modes of handling waste plastic, such as incineration
and landfilling2. These CO2e reductions are
some of the largest improvements among all pyrolysis technology
offerings3, 4.
"Plastics play an important role in our society, including
expanding the shelf life of food and making vehicles lighter, which
reduces their emissions. Unfortunately, only a fraction of plastics
today can be successfully recycled," said Vimal Kapur, president and chief executive
officer of Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies.
"Honeywell's UpCycle process helps fix this problem. By broadening
the types of plastic that can be recycled, UpCycle will
revolutionize the plastics economy and play a critical role in
improving the sustainability of many of the products we use on a
daily basis."
Sacyr, a Spain-based global
engineering and services company with operations in more than 20
countries worldwide, will be the first to deploy Honeywell's
proprietary UpCycle Process Technology. Honeywell and Sacyr will
form a joint venture where the two companies will co-own and
operate a facility in Andalucía, in Southern Spain, with a capacity to transform
30,000 metric tons per year of mixed waste plastics into Honeywell
Recycled Polymer Feedstock. Production is expected to begin in
2023.
Partnering with companies that have waste management experience
such as Sacyr allows Honeywell to help close the loop within the
plastics supply chain by bringing the recycling technology onsite
to the collection source. The recycling plants employ a modular
design, enabling straightforward deployment and installation,
striking the right balance between economy of scale and amount of
waste plastic generated locally.
"Our partnership with Honeywell will enable Sacyr to bring
sustainable, circular solutions to market," said Domingo Jiménez,
Manager of Sacyr Circular. "The speed with which we can start up
plants and the global viability of this solution has the
potential to greatly accelerate the impact we can have on the
communities we serve, the environment, and society as a whole."
Honeywell's UpCycle Process Technology was created within
Honeywell's Sustainable Technology Solutions (STS) group, which is
part of Honeywell UOP. This latest technology builds upon
Honeywell's focus to deliver high impact, environmentally
sustainable solutions for customers and society.
Honeywell has a long legacy of sustainability-related
innovation, including Solstice®, a new generation of
low-global-warming-potential hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) refrigerants,
aerosols, solvents and blowing agents that can reduce the
greenhouse gas emissions impact of current offerings on the market
by more than 99 percent. The company also pioneered Ecofining™, a
process that converts non-edible natural oils, animal fats and
other waste feedstocks to Honeywell Green Diesel™, which is
chemically identical to petroleum-based diesel.
Honeywell recently committed to achieve carbon
neutrality in its operations and facilities by 2035. This
commitment builds on the company's track record of sharply
reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of its operations and
facilities as well as its decades-long history of innovation to
help its customers meet their environmental and social goals. About
half of Honeywell's new product introduction research and
development investment is directed toward products that improve
environmental and social outcomes for customers.
About Honeywell
Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a
Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry-specific
solutions that include aerospace products and services; control
technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials
globally. Our technologies help everything from aircraft,
buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become
more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more
sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell,
please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.
1 The
actual utilization rate will depend on a number of factors, such as
favorable legislation, status of sorting infrastructure, outcome of
LCAs etc.
|
2 Honeywell Life Cycle Analysis,
October 2021. The LCA results are calculated by Honeywell UOP in
accordance with international standards for life cycle assessment,
ISO 14040:2006 and 14044:2006. The LCA is pending critical
review.
|
3 Plastic Energy LCA report: LIFE
CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF PLASTIC ENERGY TECHNOLOGY FOR
|
THE CHEMICAL
RECYCLING OF MIXED PLASTIC WASTE
|
4 BASF LCA report: Evaluation of
pyrolysis with LCA – 3 case studies
|
Media:
Mike Hockey
(832) 285 4933
Mike.hockey@honeywell.com
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SOURCE Honeywell